Rights of relative living in property query

FredG

Hi all,

Hoping someone can help me with this, bit of a strange one.

My girlfriend was left a property in her father's will. Her brother currently lives in the property under conditions that he maintain the upkeep of the property and keep himself in a financially viable state to continue to do so. If this is not the case the will decrees that the property is to be sold immediately with proceeds going to solely my girlfriend.

The property is basically a hoarder's paradise and after 12 months of assisting him with tidy ups (skip hire etc) and finding himself unemployed for six months while making little effort to obtain a job my girlfriend has decided that enough is enough and wants to give him notice to vacate. Any requests to get the house into a respectable state have been met with aggression and to be fair to her she's been more than patient.

Can anyone shed any light on what the proper process would be?

Just gonna bullet point some info in case it effects the procedure:

* There is no signed tenancy agreement.
* He has never paid rent
* The property will require a fair chunk of cash/effort to get it in a saleable state
* The property is solely left in my girlfriends name
* There is ample proof via photograph that the house has been decimated

Any advice graciously received. She's so absolutely stressed about it and I've been able to pass a bit of knowledge on. Obviously we'll seek legal advice in addition but any headsup would be great.

Thanks for reading.

TBagpuss

I think she will need specialist legal advice. There are a lot of variables, including the exact wording of the will, whether he was living there before her father's death or not, how long he has been there etc.

FredG

He has lived in the house before their father's death. The deeds transferred into her name when probate was granted in April last year.

Yeah, it's a bit of a git of a situation.

G_M

FredG wrote: »

* The property is solely left in my girlfriends name

It's nowhere near as clearcut as that:

Her brother currently lives in the property under conditions that he maintain the upkeep of the property and keep himself in a financially viable state to continue to do so.

You need a solicitor specialising in Wills & Probate.

If he refuses to leave when asked, I suspect the only course of actipn is a protracted legal case which will focus on the terms of the will, and whether they have been complied with.

maintain the upkeep of the property and keep himself in a financially viable state to continue to do so.

I can see extensive argument as to what constitutes "upkeep". Paying the utility bills?
Hoovering once a month? once a week?
Fixing the roof when needed?
Definition of 'needed' above?

As for "financially viable state" that opens another can of worms.
Does being unemployed contravene this? I doubt it.
Having enough from Job Seekers Allowance to pay the utilities?

I'm willing to be proved wrong, but frankly I doubt this will was drawn up on advice from a solicitor. It is a recipe for disaster.

edit:
It's just occurred to me that the

Her brother currently lives in the property under conditions that he maintain the upkeep of the property and keep himself in a financially viable state to continue to do so.

may NOT have been written into the will. It may have been a condition imposed by the girlfriend.

Which is it?

FredG

Thanks G_M. It's definitely written into the will but it isn't worded "upkeep". It's worded as ensuring the property is kept safe, clean and habitable.

xylophone

What exactly did the will say?

Was it drawn up by a solicitor?

G_M

FredG wrote: »

Thanks G_M. It's definitely written into the will but it isn't worded "upkeep". It's worded as ensuring the property is kept safe, clean and habitable.

Just as bad.

What is the definition of those 3 words?

I shall now sit back and watch this thread grow exponentially as people discuss!

FredG

xylophone wrote: »

What exactly did the will say?

Was it drawn up by a solicitor?

Yep. It was drawn up by a solicitor and agreed by all parties.

I don't have it to hand but will come back with that for you. Much appreciated.

AdrianC

This is definitely legal territory.

I'm wondering what possible effect the will can have once the executor has done their job and distributed the legacies to the beneficiaries. At that point, the house is hers. Pure and simple, 100%.

If the property was kept in trust for her, then it'd be much more straightforward - the trustees would get to decide when those conditions were breached. As it is...

I'd suspect it'll come down to her being his landlord, on an unwritten AST. So normal notice rules.

FredG

AdrianC wrote: »

This is definitely legal territory.

I'm wondering what possible effect the will can have once the executor has done their job and distributed the legacies to the beneficiaries. At that point, the house is hers. Pure and simple, 100%.

If the property was kept in trust for her, then it'd be much more straightforward - the trustees would get to decide when those conditions were breached. As it is...

I'd suspect it'll come down to her being his landlord, on an unwritten AST. So normal notice rules.

Fantastic advice, thank you. Everything has been executed and both my girlfriend and her father's ex wife are appointed trustees of the whole thing (including £10k for him). The second trustee is in favour of eviction despite having no financial interest in the property which is good.

Will definitely get advice too though. You've all been awesome.

AdrianC

So the house ISN'T hers, but is held in trust?

That would tie with the "to be sold... proceeds to go to..." bit because, again, if the house was hers then the deceased could not instruct beyond the will distribution.